At a certain point you reach peace with what you have or haven’t done when traveling in a place for a substantial length of time. You’ve seen so much it’s almost insensitive to want more. For us this moment had come well before we began our final few days of adventuring before flying home. This bit was the cherry on top, an unnecessary delight that simply added to the overall flavor, but in no way carried serious expectations. Nevertheless, New Zealand often has a way of exceeding expectations that may have never existed.
After the Pinnacles, the second item on our bucket list was Tongariro National Park. It is one of the most trafficked areas on the north island, home to Mount Ngauruhoe—more commonly known now as Mount Doom—and a bevy of beautiful hikes come summer and winter. During the first few weeks of our time in New Zealand we got rained out of our desired hiking destinations here and opted in turn for a more cozy-cabin rest period. The reality is, neither our first nor second encounter with Tongariro combined would be enough time to see everything as it's home to some of the best day-hikes in New Zealand and one of the nine Great Walks. And to no surprise, we unfortunately were pressed for time once more, disallowing major exploration. But really, we just wanted a little one-on-one moment before saying goodbye. No great expectations. Our encounter was simple and short and, in that way, perfect.
Mead’s Wall Walk—our determined spot to say goodbye—is a short walk found not far from the end of Bruce Road at the base of Mount Ruapehu. It also happened to be the filming location for a number of scenes in The Lord of the Rings. Thus the continuation of our unintentional film location tour. The funny thing about visiting a place you’ve seen in a movie is it typically leaves you with one of two feelings. The first is an overwhelming desire to go back and watch the movie the place was in. The second is the place transcends it’s cinematic portrayal as you marvel at its beauty for what it actually is. That’s what happened here in Tongariro. You couldn’t help but be reminded of the LotR, but it quickly receded to the back of your mind and instead you became overwhelmed with its volcanic landscapes, creeping fog, and piercing sun that eventually reveals great vistas and canyons beyond. Though we weren’t looking for any, we still found great satisfaction in our last stop of many over the seven months of our extended stay. Thank you New Zealand.
